As I've mentioned in prior posts, the wonderful world of blogging has introduced me to so many incredible individuals. Jill Conyers, happens to be one of these incredible individuals who I not only connected with, but I look up to as a sort of blog mentor.

I was honored when Jill asked me to compose a Guest Post for her blog, especially on a subject I am so passionate about, living with food allergies/sensitivies/issues.

Jill's blog simply put, is beautiful. She somehow manages to balance producing high quality content multiple times a week while being a wife, mom of two, creating delicious dishes, working, and oh did I mention she's an ultra runner? Yeah, she's pretty awesome! Don't just take my word for it though, check out her website Jill Conyers - Fitness, Health & Happiness here and see why I look up to her!

Prior to my Celiac, I would have diagnosed myself as a Pastaholic. Angel Hair, Fuscilli, and mounds of Pastina piled high on my plates and bowls. I panicked at the thought of never being able to enjoy noodles again, until I found gluten free pasta. It took some trial and error to find a type that would please my pick palate, but even still, gluten free noodles just didn't agree with my irate intestines. I have learned through trial and error that my IBS doesn't handle large amount of simple carbs very well, so to get my noodle fix, I needed to search elsewhere....

The hunt for alternative noodles began!Whether you have Celiac, a Gluten Allergy/Intolerance, or are simply looking for a healthier pasta alternative, I've got ALL your pasta problem solved!

All you need is an open mind, or should I say palate, some veggies and a Spiralizer/Julienne Peeler!

Zoodles - most comprable to real pasta & for Italian dishes

- made from a spiralized/peeled zucchini (how to here) - very similar to the texture of actual pasta - absorbs whatever flavor of the dish you use it with - pairs well with red sauce - requires less than five minutes cook time - cook by: skillet*, in the microwave, in a pot - downside: can become very water if overcooked - Zucchini "Lasasgna"

Spaghetti Squash - one of my favorites

- made from "forking" the insides after baking into noodles (how to here) - longest option to cook - need to bake & fork it - crunchier than actual pasta (I LOVE the crunch!) - can be on a bit of the sweeter side to some - pairs well with sauce, meat or veggie skillet dishes - can be used for macaroni and cheese or mac salad - Italian Spaghetti Squash Skillet (a personal favorite)

Cucumber Noodle - created because zucchinis were too expensive and I wanted a long noodle

- made from a spiralized/peeled cucumber (how to the same as zoodles) - crunchier than actual pasta - best served cold - pasta salad anyone? - no cooking needed - crunchier than actual pasta (I clearly LOVE crunch!) - downside: needs to be patted dry with a paper towel before storing because it can become watery, tastes best cold - Coodles Power Bowl

Rice Noodle- can also be called Vermicelli

- comes in a package hard, looks like ramen noodles! - soft pasta like texture, absorbs the taste of your dish - can be long or flat like fettuccini - check to make ensure that your product is gluten free! - some Safe Brands: Thai Kitchen, A Taste of Thai, Peacock - pairs well with Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese Dishes - quick cooking time, no boiling required!

photo credit: Detoxinista

Sweet Potato Noodle

- made from a peeled and spiralized raw sweet potato - CAN be bought in a package apparently in Asian Supermarkets called Japchae (again, when buying packaged product, check GF status!) - this is something I haven't tried yet so I am unsure what it would pair best with, I suggest: Asian dishes, a cream sauce, ground meat for a "burger bowl", chicken, or even tofu/beans for non meat eaters! - cook in a skillet with a little bit of oil to your noodle consistency liking! (al dente or mushy, the choice is yours)

photo credit: The Twisted Vegan

Carrot Noodles

- made from peeled and spiralized whole carrots - this is something I haven't tried yet but I suggest: used for cold pasta salad or cooked with Asian dishes - cook in a skillet with a little bit of oil to your noodle consistency liking! (al dente or mushy, the choice is yours)

IF YOU CAN SPIRALIZE IT OR PEEL IT, IT CAN BE MADE INTO NOODLES :) GET CREATIVE!As you can see, I like spaghetti style noodles, which are created with a spiralizer OR a Julienne peelerBUT a regular peeler can create long ribbon like noodles, similar to fettuccini!

I originally created this blog with the goal in mind to share healthy eating recipes and my passion for fitness. With it, I also created an instagram account. As the months have gone by, my instagram account and blog have taken a bit of a different direction, one that I had not anticipated, because this part of me hadn't existed yet. I had yet to walk the path of a more positive, feel good vibe, life.

Until Fall of this year, a writer's workshop class provided me with an outlet to release my feelings.

I am not one for labeling, but when it comes to my personality type, myself, along with my loved ones, joke about how I am the poster child for "Type A" personality. Despite a bubbly personality, the tendency to stress easily and focus on the negative was a common occurrence for myself.

This writer's workshop class caused a cathartic realization that my anxiety/stress and IBS again was controlling my life and I simply wasn't happy. I had plenty of reasons to be happy but I wasn't. A spontaneous Border's trip led me to pick up the book Hardwiring Happiness by Rick Handson from the Self-Help section.

My daily reminder on my mirror

I sat alone in a chair, skimming through the pages, and I told myself I would make a conscious effort to hardwire my own happiness. Once I started delving into this area of self-improvement, I couldn't stop. I shared my knowledge with others, and began doing even MORE research and reading on how I could become healthier, happier, and more positive of a person. It started with downloading a few gratitude apps. The more I learned, the more information I yearned for. Since my low point this past Summer and Fall I have done A LOT of self-improvement and self-love research and practices. I've signed up for free internet courses, Self-Love Workshops, read countless articles on Stress Relief and Positive Mindset, as well as dabbled in my own inspirational forthcomings. My room is covered in post it notes and the screen saver on my phone is always some sort of positive message.

So what does all of this mean for me, Amber and the blog?

While fitness and working out are both still huge passions of mine, I have developed another type of exercise that I have fallen in love with: exercise of the mind.

I want to help others achieve this happier and more positive state of mind, spreading good vibes and inspiration through a Positive Vibes section of my blog. If you've been following my instagram account @eatsandexercisebyamber, I dole out daily inspirations and affirmations, but this is something I want to incorporate more into my blog posts now.

I want to share some of the resources that I've used, as well as my own personal thoughts to help others achieve this enlightened state of mind that I've found.

Does this mean that I'm a positive person ALL the time?

Absolutely not. My Negative Nancy and Suzy Stressful ways sometimes sneak back, BUT I use what I've learned these last few months to try to make myself be as happy and as positive as possible, no matter what life throws my way.You may not be able to control what happens to you in life, but you cancontrol how you react to these events.Having any type of chronic disease or illness can be extremely difficult, but your attitude towards it, can truly impact your health and severity of your symptoms. I hope that the information that I share can help everyone but also, those who struggle with not only digestive disorders and diseases, but other ailments as well. Attitude is everything, and positivity and focusing on the good is key to making it through the tough times.

Incase you think I'm spewing sunshine and rainbows and need some more evidence besides my words, The Huffington Post recently published this article that there is scientific proof that happiness is a choice. With this new portion of my blog, I want to help you choose happiness more often!

I plan on sharing:

My own musings and thoughts

Articles

Books

Apps

Websites

People to Follow that have Inspired me

As they say, happiness is a journey, not a destination.Will you follow along and join me in my journey?

I've never taken a pre-workout supplement before. Even on my busiest of days, whether I'm teaching or typing away grad school work, some magical potion doesn't motivate me to get my butt to the gym and be ready for a work out, I do! And believe me, sometimes, it's really hard, especially because fatigue can also be a symptom I have from my IBS. That's why the idea of trying a Pre-Workout was one that I would fancy on and off. But, I had my doubts....

Were Pre-Workouts like Pringles? Once you pop, you can't stop? Not that I can even eat Pringles anymore, but you know what I mean. Plus, most pre-workout supplements have about 8573495 ingredients in them that I can't pronounce, let alone know what they actually are. And then there's the issue of if its gluten free and if so, my IBS still may not like it very much. SO, I've steered clear of using them, after all, I am a big believer in using your own mindset to change your attitude, so even on my worst days, I head to the gym, because I know aftewards, I'll feel a lot better.

BUT when Vega Sport teamed up with Fit Approach through a product review for their FUEL YOUR BETTER campaign, I just KNEW I had to sieze this opportunity of trying their all natural Pre-Workout Energizer. Natural ingredients meant I knew what I was putting in my body and felt comfortable that my IBS would tolerate a plant-based pre-workout supplement with medicinal ingredients.

Vega Sport wants to help you, whatever your fitness needs may be, FUEL YOUR BETTER, with their campaign and awesome line of products. Unsure of what your needs are?

Take their Performance Nutrition Plan Quiz to help guide you in the right direction of overcoming what's holding you back from becoming better!

Featuring two complementary carbohydrates, Pre-Workout Energizer is balanced to provide both instant and slower-burning fuel for your workouts. Organic sprouted brown rice syrup has a high glycemic index (90), entering the bloodstream quickly, while organic palm nectar has a low glycemic index (35), providing slow, steady energy that will not spike or crash."

Wow, that's a lot of science! Where's Bill Nye when I need him?WATCH THIS this video: it describes all the medicinal ingredient benefits and what each helps you do to Fuel Your Better! (If you're like me and want to know exactly what something is being used for)

Originally, I had planned to use the Pre-Workout as extra motivation to kill it in the gym on Leg Day or on one of my HIIT Cardio days, when I just wasn't feelin' the treadmill. Unfortunately, I'm injured right now and have had to drastically alter my workout routine......

Yep, that's EXACTLY what's how I felt after I struggled and suffered on my very first ride on the Recumbent Bike. Due to my injury, I'm very limited in what I can do, and the Recumbent Bike, for the time being, is the only way I can get a sweat on.....

Props to all of you cyclists out there! Cause, I literally felt like giving up after five minutes. My energy was sucked out of me after only six hundred seconds of steady state pedaling and I hadn't even broke a sweat at that point...

Thankfully my Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer Acai Berry was waiting for me at my post box that night. I made it part of my game plan to take it before my next Cycling attempt.

The box says to take it twenty minutes before a workout, well I had a lot of thoughts and feelings within those twenty minutes...

I'm on a Sea Food Diet.When I see food, I eat it!Please, contain your laughter over my punniness. But seriously, I love food, if you haven't realized that through reading my blog by now, I DO.I LOVE FOOD, YES I DO, I LOVE FOOD THAT IS TRUE!

I ESPECIALLY love food that is delicious, nutritious, AND doesn't require a lot of effort. In the recipe world, that often seems non-existent, hence the birth of my blog, and this recipe! I made this as a quick meal at home over Christmas Break a few months ago, and it's been a favorite ever since! A crowd pleaser that tastes gourmet, but didn't take all day!Lemon & Garlic Shrimp**I used Wegman's Lemon & Garlic Marinade to create this dish, you can either:- find your OWN lemon and garlic marinade OR make your own, which I will provide instructions for below, but adjust the garlic to lemon ratio to YOUR liking!1 bag defrosted Frozen Extra Large Shrimp (or use the size you typically buy)"Homemade Marinade"1 1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic (1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic from a jar = approx 1 clove, so 3 cloves for all you fancy people!)3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice1 Tablespoon Olive OilSalt and Pepper to TasteNoodle Option: Zoodles, GF Pasta, Spaghetti Squash, Whole Wheat Pasta, Regular Pasta

IF YOU LIKE A LOT OF "SAUCE" then I suggest double or even tripling the above ingredients for the marinade, and adding a bit of water. I like my food saucy, so I tend to use a lot more than the average person would...

1. Clean and cut tails off ALL shrimp, make sure you squeeze out the tails to get every last bit of protein! (I'm not kidding either, don't waste!)2. Add shrimp and marinade to bag, marinate for 4-6 hours in the fridge (or if you're like me, only thirty because you forgot to do it and just realized it as you started getting dinner together!)3. Spray skillet lightly (since there's already oil in the marinade if you used the homemade version) and turn to medium heat, add shrimpThis is when you should start boiling your water if you're making pasta4. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, turn over, and cook an additional 55. The shrimp's "sauce" should not be bubbling, lower the heat if this occurs, otherwise all your juices will evaporate. Add more garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt or pepper if necessary

Vegetable Medley (optional to add in, but really enhances the meal)1. Saute mushrooms until cooked2. Cook frozen spinach and drain thoroughly/Saute fresh spinach3. IF USING: Roasted Red Pepper, add it to either skillet that has room, to warm them up3. IF USING: Tomatoes, simply toss the tomatoes in with your drained spinach to get warm, cooking them will make them become watery and fall apartOther Veggies that would pair well with this dish: Broccoli, Kale, Yellow Squash, Eggplant

Once shrimp are cooked:Place pasta/noodle on plateAdd vegetable medleyTop with shrimp!If you're feeling adventurous like I was give it a good stir,and enjoy!

Tips/Notes-Like all of my recipes, this is a flexible dish, use whatever "noodle" variety and veggies YOU think would taste best in a lemon and garlic sauce- Adjust the lemon to garlic ratio to YOUR liking- Turn the heat up by adding: crushed red pepper flakes- I, usually, do not like when my food touches or mixes, which is why I cooked everything separate, feel free to cook your shrimp, saute your veggies, then toss them all together in the pan to heat along with your noodles! I'm very picky and need to do the mixing on my own- Not a noodle fan? Use quinoa!